Four interstate mobile lifters came down from Delhi to a musical event at a city shopping mall and stole 30 mobile phones from revellers.
The gang, arrested by the Mahadevapura police, recently struck Phoenix Marketcity (mall) in Singayyanapalya near Mahadevapura where the music event ‘Sunburn Holi Weekend’ was organised.
Pranav, a 22-year-old accountant residing in Vidyaranyapura who attended the party, complained at the Mahadevapura police station at 8.40 pm on March 19 that his mobile phone and that of a few others have been stolen at the event.
Police sub-inspector Sarojini Waghmore rushed to the mall with her subordinates, placed them at every entry and exit point, and began checking every party attendee before letting them out. They managed to catch 32-year-old Uttar Pradesh native Saddam and his associates 32-year-old Waseem Ahmed, 33-year-old Mohammed Adeel, and 29-year-old Irsad, all of whom hail from Delhi.
Police said more than 2,500 people attended the event. Though they filtered out four miscreants, one of them managed to escape. Efforts are on to trace him.
How they pulled it off
The gang learnt about the event organised in Bengaluru online and devised a plan to steal mobile phones there. While three of them flew down from Delhi, two others reached Bengaluru by Nizamuddin Express and Rajdhani Express. Reaching the mall at 5 pm, they split up and melted into the crowd.
The gang members stole mobile phones from people who danced to the tunes of DJ Kshmr and were oblivious to their surroundings. Before police could be alerted, the gang stole around 30 phones. Police recovered 24 mobile phones worth Rs 10 lakh from the four arrested.
The gang confessed that they stole mobile phones in similar ways in other metro cities and tried their luck in Bengaluru for the first time. The arrested men, all of whom were school and college dropouts, led a lavish life by stealing mobile phones and selling them in North India. Further investigations are on.
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